Author: Amy Lutz

Today, Americans stand together in solidarity in remembrance of the terrible tragedy on September 11th, 2001. Thirteen years ago, many of us were still learning long division or feeling their first crushes and heartbreaks. Most of us had not yet experienced the harsh realities of the real world and still retained a bubbly spark of optimism and security. Yet, on that horrific September morning, our innocence was wiped away. All Americans, regardless of age, fixated on newspapers, televisions, and computer screens as the sorrowful narrative unfolded. The lives of 2,996 of our fellow citizens were tragically cut short. Eight...

Ever wondered why James Madison & many of his Federalist cohorts were so adamant about founding a republic instead of a democracy? I know many of us are quick to correct our well-intentioned peers when they mistake the latter for the former, but few are aware of exactly why the word “democracy” isn’t printed anywhere in the Constitution. In Federalist #10, James Madison stated, From this view of the subject it may be concluded that a pure democracy, by which I mean a society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in person,...

Let’s face it. Conservatives suck at messaging. What’s worse is that liberals are very, very good at messaging their policies, regardless of how ridiculous said policies may be. Time and time again, we find ourselves on the losing side of the national political debate. Sure, we’ve got bright spots here and there (think gun control), but for the most part, we fall behind in the messaging battle. Our policies are better, but our messaging is not. It’s clear that the GOP could use a few more PR experts in their ranks. I expect to get pristine examples of successful messaging from the Dana and Chris Loeschs of the world, so I was justifiably surprised when I realized that we have another great role model for messaging outside the realm of American politics. Outside of America all together, actually. Pope Francis has been in the news lately for his recent statements on social issues. Statements such as the one below have sparked discussion on both sides of the political aisle here in the US: We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that. But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the church,...

Walking school buses. No, it’s not the name of the next Transformers sequel (sans Shia Lebouf). It’s the newest facet of Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign, (a portion of her overall goal of increasing wellness in the US) designed to combat childhood obesity. The First Lady recently began promoting a program for “walking school buses,” in which schools will be encouraged to chaperone children to school instead of allowing them to ride to school in the apparent obesity-causing school buses. Guess it’s time for Millennials to learn what it’s like to “walk 4 miles to school in 10 feet...

When did we stop acknowledging evil and try to justify or explain it instead? I find myself asking this question as the media scrapes the bottom of the barrel of classmates who knew alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhr Tsarnaev. He was a “quiet, sweet boy.” He was “an angel.” He was a lifeguard, a student, a normal kid. Well I don’t know about you, but “normal” teenagers don’t detonate bombs feet away from an 8-year-old child. Chechen President, Ramzan Kadyrov, suggested that the Tsarnaev brothers learned their evil ways, claiming, “It is necessary to seek the roots of evil...